Multiple piston engine



Jan. 12, 19.37.

C. D. TOWN MULTIPLE PISTON ENGINE Filed Dec. 15, 1934 Patented dan. l2, i937 UNITED STATES PATENT FFCE MULTIPLE PISTON ENGINE Clinton David Town, Portland, Oreg.

Application December 13, 1934, Serial No. '757,261

9 Claims.

The object of my invention is to provide an engine having a single crank throw and a connecting rod operatively joined thereto with means for giving opposed reciprocal action to a plurality of pistons defining one or more combustion chambers in the cylinder of said engine. That is, my invention is directed toward thesimplification of a multiple piston engine in which the pistons reciprocate in opposite directions and define between them a combustion chamber and which action can be attained by a single connecting rod and a single crank throw.

The object of my invention is attained in an internal combustion engine having a cylinder element dening one or more combustion chambers, each arranged between two opposed pistons. If more than one combustion chamber is provided, one piston preferably is common to two combustion chambers. A connecting rod is joined to one crank throw of the crank shaft of said engine and is bifurcated and preferably is directly joined tothe ends of the piston pin of one piston. A pair of reciprocating straps is similarly joined to the ends of the piston pin of said piston and the pin of another piston spaced therefrom. An intermediate piston is operatively connected to the connecting rod through a pair of levers pivotally mounted adjacent their ends, so that opposite movement will be given said intermediate piston.

To eliminate all tendency toward distortion of said members, I preferably arrange said levers not only to join both ends of the piston pin of said intermediate piston, but also to encircle the cylinder and thus eliminate any tendency which would distort any of said members upon axes normal to the axis of the piston pin of the intermediate piston, as well as about the axis of the latter.

The details of my invention are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic plan View of a simple form of engine embodying my invention, looking downwardly upon the pivot axis of the levers joining the piston;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of said engine viewing the latter in a plan extending at right angles to said pivot axis;

Fig. 3 is a more or less diagrammatic sectional View illustrating the position of the pistons in the cylinder when the contents of one combustion chamber are compressed to maximum degree, and the contents of the other combustion chamber are fully expanded; and

(Cl. 12S-51) Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3, in which the conditions of said combustion chambers are reversed.

My invention is illustrated as embodied in an engine of simple form. Said engine includes a cylinder a carried by a base b. The crank c is journaled in bearings d, also carried by said base. The single crank throw c of said crank engages a connecting rod e. Said connecting rod is preferably bifurcated at e', which bifurcated end e straddles the end of the cylinder a and engages the ends of the piston pin f extending through the piston f.

Lying in spaced relation along the cylinder are pistons f, g, and h. The piston pins f', g', and h', in their respective pistons, extend laterally therefrom through ported sections of the cylinder a, the ported sections being a', a2, and a3 for the piston pins f', y', and h respectively.

Connecting the piston pins f and h are a pair of straps i lying at opposite sides of the cylinder. Said straps are of xed length and are connected to said two piston pins, and thus the piston travel of the pistons f and h are exactly the same and are in synchronism with each other. The straps i are slotted at i to pass about the piston pin y without engagement therewith. The piston pin 71, is connected to the piston pin g through a pair of pivoted levers and lc and links Z and m. The levers y' and lc are crossed substantially at their middle, and at the point of intersection are pivotally mounted upon laterally extending studs n diametrically opposed and extending laterally from the opposite sides of the cylinder a.

The levers j extend exteriorly of the levers 7c and said levers are arranged in pairs which substantially encircle the cylinder, as is disclosed in Fig. 2. The end of one pair of levers 7 is connected to one end of the piston pin g through one pair of links Z. 'Ihe opposite end of said levers are connected to the opposite end of the piston pin h' through a pair of links m. The levers k: are similarly secured to the opposite ends, respectively, of the piston pins g and h through pairs of links l and m.

The levers :i and k are arranged in pairs substantially encircling the cylinder so that there will be no lateral thrust exerted upon the studs n, or upon the ends of the piston pins y' and h. Likewise, said levers are connected to both ends of the piston pins g' and h', respectively, through links l and m, so that both ends of the piston pin will exert similar thrusts against the ends of the other piston pin to which they are joined, the action being, however, diagonally through the studs n and move the opposite ends of the piston pins through said pivoted levers.

A combustion chamber o is dened between the pistons f and g and a similar combustion chamber pis defined between the pistons g and h.

The operation of my engine is as follows:

When the engine is arranged as is shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, the crank throw c' has caused pistons g and h to be moved apart to their maximum degree, and the pistons f and h to be moved toward each other, so that the combustion chamber o lying between them is restricted to its minimum compass. When the crank throw is rotated pistons assume the positions shown in Fig. 4. The rotation of the crank shaft to this position causes the lever lc to be rocked clockwise and the lever y" to be rocked counter-clockwise to a degree suiicient to move the pistons g and h toward each other, as is indicated in Fig. 4.

Inasmuch as the pistons f and h have the same piston travel and the piston g has a similar piston travel in the opposite direction, the pistons ,'f and g' are spread apart after said rotation until they assume the position shown in Fig. 4, which is substantially the reverse of that shown in Fig. 3. 'Ihe continued rotation 180 will cause said parts to assume their original positions.

My invention is not intended to be limited to the exact structure illustrated in an engine having three pistons and two combustion chambers. As is apparent to a person skilled in the art, it is equally adapted to an engine having'rnore pistons and, correspondingly, more combustion chambers by duplicating the parts and extending the cylinder. Likewise, if it is desirable to have only two pistons and a single combustion chamber, the piston f could be eliminated, for example, and the connecting rod secured directly to the piston pin h through the straps z', or by reversing said parts end for end could be directly secured to the piston pin h'.

I claim:

1. An internal combustion engine including a cylinder element deiining a combustion chamber provided with two opposed pistons, a crank shaft and a connecting rod direct connected to the wrist pin of one of said pistons, and the other piston being operatively connected with said i'irst mentioned piston thru a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends and `joined to the wrist pin of said last mentioned piston, which pin extends laterally through the walls of the cylinder element.

2. An internal combustion engine including a cylinder element dening a combustion chamber provided with two opposed pistons, a crank shaft and a connecting rod direct connected to the wrist pin of one of said pistons, the other piston being operatively connected with said first mentioned piston thru a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends and upon the cylinder, said last mentioned piston, which pin extends laterally through the walls of the cylinder element.

3. An internal combustion engine including a cylinder element dening a combustion chamber provided with two opposed pistons, a crank shaft and a connecting rod operatively connected to one of said pistons, the other piston being operatively connected with said rst mentioned piston thru a pair of levers pivotally mounted intermediate their ends upon the cylinder, and lying at opposite sides thereof.

4. An internal combustion engine including a cylinder element defining a combustion chamber provided with two opposed pistons, a crank shaft and a connecting rod operatively connected to one of said pistons, the other piston being operatively connected with said first mentioned piston thru a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends, said cylinder being ported, a piston pin extending laterally from each piston thru the ported walls of the cylinder, and a link element pivotally joining the ends of each of said pins to the ends of said lever.

5. An internal combustion engine including a cylinder element defining a plurality of combustion chambers, each provided with two opposed pistons, one piston being common to both combustion chambers, a crank shaft and a connecting rod operatively connected to one piston in each combustion chamber, the other piston in each of the combustion chambers being operatively connected with said :first mentioned pistons thru a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends.

6. An internal combustion engine including a cylinder element dening a plurality of combustion chambers, each provided with two opposed pistons, one piston being common to both combustion chambers, a crank shaft and a connecting rod operatively connected to one piston in each combustion chamber, the other piston in each of the combustion chambers being operatively connected with said first mentioned pistons thru a pair of levers pivotally mounted intermediate their ends, upon the cylinder, and lying at opposite sides thereof.

'7. An internal combustion engine including a cylinder element deiining a combustion chamber provided with two opposed pistons, a crank shaft and a connecting rod operatively connected to one of said pistons, the other piston being operatively connected with said rst mentioned piston thru a pair of crossed levers pivotally mounted intermediate their ends, said cylinder being ported, a piston pin extending laterally from each piston thru the ported walls of the cylinder, and means pivotally joining the ends of each of said pins to the ends oi said levers.

8. An internal combustion engine including a cylinder element defining a combustion chamber provided with two opposed pistons, a crank shaft and a connecting rod operatively connected to one of said pistons, the other piston being operatively connected with said flrst mentioned piston thru a pair of crossed levers pivotally mounted intermediate their ends, said cylinder being ported, a piston pin extending laterally from each piston thru the ported walls of the cylinder, and a link element pivotally joining the ends of each of said pins to the ends of said levers.

9. Ari internal combustion engine including a cylinder element defining a plurality of combustion chambers, each provided with two opposed pistons, one piston being common to both combustion chambers, a crank shaft and a connecting rod operatively connected to one piston in each combustion chamber, the other piston in each of the combustion chambers being operatively connected with said rst mentioned pistons thru a pair of crossed levers pivotally mounted intermediate their ends, upon the cylinder, and lying at opposite sides thereof, said cylinder being ported, a piston pin extending laterally from each piston thru the ported walls of the cylinder, and means pivotally joining the ends of each of said pins to the ends of said lever.

CLINTON DAVID TOWN. 

